I’m not wealthy (newspaper journalists are not well paid). I have numerous side hustles to survive. That said, living apart from your partner is NOT for the wealthy. As I have written before:

Living apart together is only for the wealthy

This is a common perception but misguided one (on a few levels). Let’s assume that when you met your partner, he or she was living alone. So were you. In other words, you both had your own places — so nothing’s changed, right? Even if one or both or you had roommates, you’d still have roommates.

Why continue to have roommates when you can just move in together? Good question. Except your relationship with your roommate is not the same as a relationship with a romantic partner — you’re not sharing the same bed and you don’t have the same expectations from him or her or them. It’s often the heightened expectations from our romantic partners that cause a lot of resentments, frustrations and anger.

Nevertheless, I can hear you say that you’d save money if you moved in together!

That’s most likely true, but there are ways to afford your lifestyle that don’t crimp your freedom in the same way, such as getting a roommate (if you don’t already have one) or Airbnbing your place or a room if you really need the cash. In other words, if saving money is the compelling reason to live together, there are creative ways to work around it.

But the much bigger issue is this — are you only moving in together to save money? Because your financial situation isn’t the best reason to move in together; you should only cohabit if you’re prepared to live with your partner 24/7 and all his or her peccadilloes, and not because you want to save money. If that isn’t what you’re prepared to do then it’s better to continue to live apart and get creative.